Pages

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Iceland Photo Diary

Welcome to part one of four (yes, four) of my Iceland posts! I came home with so many photos, as well as so much I wanted to talk about, that I thought I'd split it all up into where to stay, where to eat, what to and - today's post - a photo diary. The purpose of the photo diary is basically just to give you a good feel of what Iceland's like. If you can stretch your mind back to my travel bucketlist a few months ago then you'll know that Iceland has been on my wishlist for years and years, but, even still, it was somewhere that I struggled to form a picture of in my head. I would say Reykjavik isn't somewhere that initially bowls you over (wait R-baby, forgive me, there's more), but as you start to walk through it and take in all it's quirky, colourful details and welcoming feel, it quickly wins you over, and by the end of our first morning there I was totally and utterly in love. It feels like what I'd imagine Alaska to be like (I'm basing this statement entirely on The Proposal, so if you're from Alaska and you're looking at this and thinking 'errr... no it's not', I do apologise). Anyway, my words won't really be able to do it justice, so hopefully these pictures will do the talking...

We flew over with WOW Air, who were truly vunderbar. Each of the flights left on time, landed early and had our bags there and waiting at collection by the time we were off the plane, which, I think we can all agree is a big fat rarity. They were such a fun airline to fly with (as I'm sure you can see from the photo above) which helped to keep me distracted, being the awful 'THERE'S A COLONIAL WOMAN ON THE WINGS' flier that I am. If you're looking to plan a trip, their flights start from £49 one way from London to Reykjavik and leave from Gatwick direct to Reyjkavik ten times a week and - rumour has it - they're starting to introduce £99 flights to U.S.A from London.

And we've arrived at Reykjavik airport, wahey! Rob had literally just put something in the bin and turned round as I took this snap and still managed to look like this, which doesn't really seem fair... I think I might be dating Zoolander.

Do you see now what I mean about Reykjavik making you fall in love with it? There's so much colour everywhere and, contrasted against the bright blue sky (when it's not snowing or raining) you can't really help but smile. It's one of those places where the whole 'look up' debate rings true, there's so much to take in everywhere you go and the STREET ART, oh the street art. It's absolutely amazing; there's beautiful big colourful graffiti murals everywhere, and not a half-arsed drawing of a cock in sight.

Now... let's go slightly outside of Reykjavik.

This was at Thingveller National Park which is the last stop on The Golden Circle Tour (don't worry, I'll go into that in much more detail on my 'what to do post') where the views are just incredible. I often worry that we've become desensitised to the views nature can offer thanks to all the overly-photoshopped images the internet presents us with, but this place proved me completely wrong. It's so serene and still and breathtaking all in one.

These were taken at Gullfoss Waterfall, which is also part of The Golden Circle Tour. I was hoping to see it in the sun so that we could catch some rainbows surrounding it, but seeing it in the snow turned out to to be just as magical.

Aaand here we are in the land of the Geysers which, you guessed it, is also part of the Golden Circle Tour. It's all so mystical and spooky and Ice Age-esque out there, as you can probably see above. In this photo here I think Rob might have been pretending he was king of all the land, Mufasa style, but don't tell him I told you that.

Now, back to Reykjavik we go.

Would you look at that view!? Imagine walking down the main shopping street in your town and that being your view every single time you walked past a side street. Rob's very calm and collected about things, internally excited if you like, whereas I couldn't stop standing and looking down at it, shouting,'WOULD. YOU. LOOK. AT. THAT.' every time we passed. If our relationship can survive that it can survive anything.

One of the questions I've been asked a lot is what to wear in Iceland and, in short, wear the warmest shit you can get your hands on. I thought living in Scotland would prepare me for the cold but I was very, very wrong. The weather's really changeable - you can literally see snow, sun and rain in the space of half an hour - so make sure you're equipped with both a hood and some sunglasses And some gloves. Superdry very kindly sent us over some bits to wear which turned out to be a god-send, I think I'd have been dead in a ditch by the end of the first day if it wasn't for this badboy. And I owe the safety of my ears entirely to this furry headband. They seem to be one of the most popular brands out there which is fun, it's kind of like being part of one big, colourful, warm army.

Laugavegur, the main street in downtown Reykjavik, all lit up at night, which gave me a nice fuzzy feeling in my belly that's normally reserved for Christmas.

And, speaking of being lit up at night, this is the Harpa concert hall and conference centre at dusk, which you definitely need to pop along and see if you're visiting Reykjavik. It's beautifully framed by the snowy mountains and is verrrry mesmerising; despite the cold we ended up standing watching it for about ten minutes.

And there we have it, time to head home already! But not without a giggle at WOW's in-flight 'Vom-O-Meter sick bag, below, and a view of the snowy mountains in the sunrise first.

I hope you enjoyed this post because, as I feel you can probably tell, I very much enjoyed putting it together! A lot of you have got in touch since I've been over to say you were now thinking of planning a trip over and my answer to you all is DO IT. It's one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had, and it really doesn't compare to anywhere I've ever been. There's still so much I want to see and do that I didn't get to this time round so, basically what I'm saying is, let me come in your case.

Amy

Thank you so much again to WOW Air and Airbnb for such a wonderful trip!

41 comments:

Looks like you had an amazing time Amy! Pretty much had a 'would you look at that' moment for every photo so can't imagine how annoying Id be if I was there!I've wanted to go for a long time too so seeing your photos are making me need to go even more! I love this style of poss on your blog too - obviously I love to stalk the hell out of your ootd's but it's cool to get a bit more insight into your life too - starting to worry about my own stalker levels at this point sooooo I'm just gonna leave it there.(For now)AllyXxwww.allyinblunderland.co.uk

WOW Amy Iceland looks amazing your photos are truly stunning. I can only imagine what it must of been like seeing it for real. Reykjavik looks frigging awesome with all the colourful street art and graffiti. I would love to visit one day and hopefully see the northern lights.

as I thought, your photos are just magnificent and I think you really showed how beautiful and amazing Iceland is and now it's definitely on my travel agenda..it just looks amazing and your photos are just beautiful...can't wait for the rest :) <3

Waaah, these pictures are amazing! The colourful scenery reminds me of Valparaiso in Chile (you should def go). I'm seriously still contemplating going and turning it into a full on Walter Mitty tour. I love your white jacket btw, it's a beaut!

Magnificent photos! We are going to Iceland during or Arctic cruise in August. We've chose this company because we have a discount there http://poseidonexpeditions.com/arctic/. What advice could you give to the Iceland travelers? Are there "must see" places?

Hi! I'm going to Iceland in January with my boyfriend and saw your post whilst I was looking for winter gear. It really looks like a beautiful place and I really can't wait!Where did you get your coat, it's amazing!I really love the winter! Thank you for sharing your experience!xx